


Dog Days Are Over

by Dr_Roslin



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Adam Driver is the President, Also Han is the Vice-President of the Kylo Ren doesn't need to be redeemed club, Ben Solo Needs A Hug, Ben and Rey Are Engame, Ben's old one, Blue skies and sunshine guaranteed, Finn is clearly the lead singer, HEA, Han Solo is a delight, It's going to be sentimental and obvious, Just to clear, Leia is laughing, Look at this photo, No Pregnancy, Pay no attention to the blonde, Random groupies are still trying to get into Han's bed, Rey doesn't like it when people touch her soft boi Ben, Rey is going to kick some ass, Reylo HEA, Reylo Is Engame, Safe to Read if Triggered by Pregnancy, Tell me you don't know who the drummer is, That's the way I like it, The Force Ships It, The Force is a Band, The Knights of Ren are also a band, The blonde is a plot device, There is some Ben/Phasma but it a PLOT device, seriously
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-12
Updated: 2020-07-20
Packaged: 2021-03-02 00:42:24
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 10,050
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23566273
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dr_Roslin/pseuds/Dr_Roslin
Summary: Ben Solo found himself unable to say 'no' when his mother asked him to quit the Knights of Ren and join his father and uncle in the legendary rock band The Force. Months later, he's still trying to cut the final ties to his old life and the toxic lifestyle his old mentor encouraged him to enjoy.It would help if he could focus on what his new life instead of on Rey Johnson, the new consultant in charge of The Force's security.Rey Johhnson had enough on her plate. She is too tired, and too stressed and too old for this shit.  She does not have time to worry about Ben, who is 31 years old, has an adult(ish) career, and who has a family who loves him and a fiancee who pretends to.He does not need her to save him.
Relationships: Kylo Ren/Rey, Leia Organa/Han Solo, Phasma/Ben Solo, Rey/Ben Solo, Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Comments: 7
Kudos: 44





	1. Marking Time

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired mainly by this tweet by Ham1llherself.
>
>> They look like a boy band [pic.twitter.com/JyjLeLC8q2](https://t.co/JyjLeLC8q2)
>> 
>> — Hamill herself (@Ham1llHerself) [August 29, 2017](https://twitter.com/Ham1llHerself/status/902446552370757632?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw)
> 
> Now look at that photo and tell me you don't know who the drummer is? 

“I’m going to put my foot so far up that girl’s ass she’s going to taste the bloody shoe leather all the way to jail.”

Ben Solo winces as he hears the quiet angry muttering behind him, trying not to show it, trying to keep smiling gently at the small child for whom he was currently autographing a replica doll. (It was supposed to be of him - spoiler alert - it does not. _Too pretty. Too perfect._ He smiles at himself and had no problem keeping the smile going).

“There you go,” he tells the child, enjoying the way the enthusiasm practically radiates off of him and hoping it’s enough to distract him from what's going on nearby. 

Anyway, he’d been grateful to have his Head of Security step in and handle it, really he has been, as it had both allowed him to focus on his younger, less demanding fans, and also it had gotten him out of a really awkward scene. 

He’d felt the woman grope him. It had been hard not to. Maybe _grope_ was a strong enough word, given that she’d been actively trying to get her hands all the way down his pants. 

Still. No matter how many times he’d explained it to Rey Johnson, she still didn’t quite get that she couldn’t simply drag the fans who stepped over the line off to jail and throw away the key. Whenever they talked about her approach to aggressive fans, he always got the same response. 

“I don’t like it when they touch you.”

He sighed. The record company insisted that his band, The Force, commit to around the clock security, but he didn’t have to like it. He knew that was the reason he was short with her, the anxiety and discomfort he felt being constantly followed, watched, making him feel like his skin was buzzing with an itch he’d never fully be able to scratch. 

The heightened security was one reason, the increased media scrutiny, the growing number of groupies, the stalkers. Sometimes it felt like it was all physically pressing in on him and the feeling just was... too much. So yes, he was short with her. Often. He knew it, and no matter how hard he tried to reign it in, some days were worse than others. He also knew he was using it as an excuse, both for his demonstrably bad behaviour towards her, and for his failure to address the real reasons he was increasingly uncomfortable in his own skin.

'Dodged a bullet, hey there, kid?'

He shot a quick glare at his father as they - finally - walked into the venue they'd be playing tonight. Han Solo, still ruggedly handsome at 72, was still laughing at the world, was still a smart ass and was still delighting in teasing his adult son about the fact that women seemed to find him absolutely irresistible. Ben had once told his mother that he thought it was because it fed into Han's concept of his own virility, and she hadn't disagreed. The problem, she'd said laughing, was that Han never knew when to shut up.

_Still using you,_ the insidious voice of his former agent, Christian Snoke, whispered in his ear. _Still sucking your talent dry to recapture his youth._

Fuck. Leaving behind his band mates, _especially_ his father, Ben strode determinedly into the green room, shucking his black leather motorcycle jacket almost as he went, stripping down to a t-sheet emblazoned with the band's logo and a tattered pair of jeans. There would be time to get into performance mode later. Right now, he just needed to play. Grabbing the nearest set of drumsticks, he ignored the sound of numerous people calling his name and headed to the stage where thankfully his drum kit was already set up.

Slipping into the stool behind it, the noise reducing earplugs already in, he felt like he was slipping into place, his position behind the drums the closest thing to home he'd ever felt outside of a cockpit. Within minutes he was drenched in sweat, the powerful discordant sounds allowing him to centre himself once again. He'd pound the drums awhile. Maybe then he could deal with his family. All of it. 


	2. A Measured Beat

Peeling groupies off Ben Solo was the least favourite part of Rey Johnson's new job as Head of Security for The Force.

Wait. No, she took that back. Peeling groupies off _Han_ Solo was still, by far, the worst part of her new job. Peeling them off Ben was just a different level of awkward.

It was just that, with Han, he was used to it, and comfortable with her, comfortable in a way that Ben could never be. Must be the advantage of doing this for forty years, she thought. He understood the game and what that entailed. He no longer got embarrassed when he walked into his hotel room and found a naked twenty-two-year-old in his bed. He just stepped out of the room and called Rey to come take care of it.

Rey frowned. The fall-out for that particular nightmare had been much significant than she'd expected. She groaned, remembering all the reports she'd had to fill out to submit to that hotel's HR department. They really hadn't liked it that someone had been able to bribe their way into the private hotel suite of one of the most famous and notorious rock stars in the world. _Someone's getting fired_ , she'd told Han when she got to his suite that night, and sure enough, she hadn't been right. The amount of paperwork to make that happen, though... nightmare.

She made a mental note to check in with the hotel to ensure they'd gotten everything she needed from them so she could stop filling out forms in triplicate, even as she continued making her rounds of the event venue. There was something about this place that gave her the heebie-jeebies, and the only way she knew to deal with that restless, itchy feeling was to dig into the security arrangements for the event.

_Trust your feelings, Rey._

If there was one thing Ben Kenobi, her old mentor, had drilled into her, it was that you could never be too prepared in this line of work, and that if something felt like it was off, it most likely was. Something _was_ off and given the disturbing messages the member of The Force had been receiving lately, she couldn't be too careful.

It was unusual, for a band such as The Force to receive this degree of hate mail, particularly hate mail of this virulence. Even still, the record company execs she'd been dealing with had been half-tempted to brush it under the table, and she was grateful for once that their fear of lawsuits and the pressure of their insurance company had encouraged them to reconsider.

Who'd have thunk it? She was grateful for fucking _insurance_ companies.

It was the only way she'd been able to beat the seriousness of this hate mail into the record company execs - by pointing out the liability they were exposing themselves to. This shit was real, and it was something they'd have to pay attention.

No, she'd told them, The Force didn't generally attract hate mail. They couldn't brush off the recent upswing in the amount and tone which the band was receiving. The reason for the hate was glaringly obvious to anyone paying attention, and that meant they had to take it seriously.

She signed. People were shit, and more importantly for her current line of work, people were racist shits.

It was no coincidence that the hate mail had begun when the band had announced Finn as their new lead singer following Han's throat surgery and his decision to transition more into the role of lead guitarist for The Force. The announcement of a young Black, bisexual male singer as the lead singer for one of the most famous bands in the world, a band who'd long been one of the only cultural entities remaining that it seemed everyone could get behind, had exploded into the media, and had led to an explosion of intense racist, homophobic rhetoric, particularly in social media, and particularly in the band's fan mail. Han, Ben and Luke Skywalker (coincidentally Han's brother-in-law and Ben's uncle) were doing their best to support Finn, both publicly and privately, but the backlash had been intense.

Thankfully someone had been somewhat on the ball at the record company, enough anyway for them to decide it was safer to hire actual security for the band instead of relying on the hodgepodge of bouncers and roadies they'd been using since the band was formed. She still turned them down, though, the first few times they'd approached her, and probably would have continued to do so, if it hadn't been for old Ben Kenobi. It turned out that he'd been close to Han's wife back in the day (apparently they had been so close she'd actually named her son after him, Ben, "her only hope"), and he'd hadn't been able to say no when she called on him to pressure his protege into this gig.

_"I can make a whole lot more money with a lot easier gigs," Rey had reminded him when he called, but he'd worn her down._

_"Just meet them," he'd told her. "It's worth it...You'll like them."_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Come say hi, I'm at [twitter ](https://twitter.com/RandomBks)


	3. Off-Key

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pay no attention to the blonde - the blonde is a plot device :)  
> Seriously, don't yell at me. Read the tags.

_"I can make a whole lot more money with a lot easier gigs," Rey had reminded him when he called, but he'd worn her down._

_"Just meet them," he'd told her. "It's worth it...You'll like them."_

Rey sighed. She didn't need any more publicity. Not after last year. But, yes, she did like them.

Liked them a lot. 

Han made her welcome at their first meeting, his ease with her apparent from the moment she started mouthing off at him. (In her defence, he'd started it.) Luke, the bassist and the heart and soul of the band, a man so dedicated to music that she'd heard him referred to as a monk, had been standoffish at first, almost reclusive, until she realized that he was really just shy. Once they'd both relaxed, they'd spent hours falling into easy conversation, him teaching her musical theory, her enriching his knowledge of food, popular culture and literature. (And sometimes goofy humour). 

Leia Organa, though. With Leia she felt like she'd found the mentor she'd been looking for. Leia Organa, the matriarch and acknowledged leader of the motley crew, had felt like family the moment they'd met. A fashionable woman in her sixties, she exuded a sense of power, not surprising given her position as one of the country's leading civil rights attorneys. Her warm personality and sense of humour were legendary, and might at first glance to have skipped her only child, her son, Ben. But then, Rey thought looking down at him as he drummed on stage, practising the drums with an intensity that was almost frightening, first impressions were often wrong. 

Ben Solo.

Ben.

Ben.

Ben.

She wasn't sure what she was going to do with him, but after all, she thought as she watched the beautiful blonde in couture, her heels topping her over six feet, climb the stage to approach him, sometimes people had to make their own mistakes. This groupie he would have to deal with on his own, particularly since he'd been stupid enough to ask her to marry him. 

Doing what she could to give them their privacy, and because (she could admit it herself, at least), it made her uncomfortable to see them together, she resumed her patrol of the building, contemplating once again contacting her FBI liaison about the hate mail which continued to intensify even as Finn grew more and more comfortable as he took over for Han.

The Force had gotten hate mail before, especially after Ben had returned to the Solo-Skywalker fold to take over for their drummer, John "Chewie" Chewbacca, but it hadn't lasted long. It had mainly focused on the rage a number of 'fans' had felt regarding the 'nepotism' they'd felt had resulted in Ben 'getting' the gig. Considering that he'd given up his previous, much more lucrative and much more high profile role as "Kylo Ren", lead singer and drummer for the legendary group The Knights of Ren, and considering that he was already considered one of the greatest musicians of his generation, though, the resentment hadn't gained much traction, either with fans of The Force or with the media. 

The hate mail Finn was getting, and that the whole band was getting, was different, in tone, intensity, duration and staying power. It was such that it had become a recurrent topic in the media, first within the industry media and in the mainstream, as it opened a number of conversations on the racism and homophobia latent in the music industry. It also lead a number of reporters to bring it into the larger impact of these forces in society, based on the deep and widespread appeal of The Force, which had been a force in the music industry for decades, and which had appeal which transcended critical, popular and generational lines.

She frowned. A number of commentaries had commented that it was healthy for society for The Force for further forcing these issues into the mainstream, but really, it would make her life a great deal easier if people just found a way to accept that Finn was not going to be a replica of Han. Finn was a truly unheard of talent, as apparently Han and Luke had decided to bring him into the fold the moment they'd heard him perform in that dingy college bar Ben and his old friend and business professor Poe Dameron had dragged them to. 

But that was a problem for another day. For right now, Rey had to focus on more pressing problems. Her patrol of the venue complete, she'd just decided to head down from the balcony to the ground floor and burrow one of the green rooms to get some work done. She was confident she could trust the security at this venue to take care of the basics, and there wasn't much more she could get done for tonight's concert from here. She'd head down, grab an early dinner and check over the preparatory background checks done for tomorrow's event.

At least, that was her plan before she heard the angry screaming coming from the stage. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Come see me at [twitter where I am available for you to yell at in real time or actual discussions of books, authors and fanfictions. Not to mention Reylo.](https://twitter.com/RandomBks)


	4. Discordant

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A reminder: blonde=plot device :)
> 
> I've also included a little call-out to this article from[ Rolling Stone ](https://www.rollingstone.com/movies/movie-features/jedi-confidential-inside-the-dark-new-star-wars-movie-122234/)  
> and maybe this one from [The New Yorker](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2019/10/28/adam-driver-the-original-man/)
> 
> And yes, because I, too, have trouble keeping up with everything I should know, and because, yes, I choose to have Phasma use 'woke' un-ironically.

Rebecca "Phasma" Stone was a Victoria Secret Angel and one of the most in-demand models working in the industry today. Almost six-feet in her bare feet, she was never not in high heels, meaning she met him eye to eye on a daily basis. Tall, blonde, witty, intelligent, driven and stunning, she was also a world-class, demanding, self-righteous, oblivious hag. 

Ben Solo couldn't get enough of her. 

He knew all her faults, knew his family couldn't stand her, neither could his friends, and she insisted on treating him like he was something she'd stepped on and that she couldn't get off of her shoe. He hated her friends, she hated his, they fought like cats and dogs, fucked like animals and spent more time screaming than talking. Every since they'd met at a Vanity Fair event celebrating the launch of some stupid new perfume a year ago, back when he was still with the Knights of Ren and was still into that scene, they'd been unable to keep their hands off of each other. Every fight ended torn clothing, a lot of fucking and holes in the wall from both of their fists. 

He'd never put his hands on her, though she certainly had given him a fair amount of bruises, but he'd done his fair share of emotional damage in the relationship. The same night he'd asked her to marry him, he'd also told her she was delusional for thinking she was anything more than the internet's flavour of the moment. She'd told him he'd never accomplish anything not orchestrated by Snoke or paid for by Han and Leia. The argument had ended like it always did, with them fucking, and the next few days had been a haze, clouded by cocaine, expensive champagne and the sex they'd had on every surface of every room of his apartment.

It wasn't that he didn't know this wasn't healthy. It was that he didn't care. He'd never felt so alive as he did when he was with her, and, especially when he was still with the Knights and Snoke, he'd really needed that.

Most days he told himself they'd grow together. 

Today was not one of those days. 

" - this is important to me, Ben. I need you there with me. The paparazzi at this event will make sure everyone sees it, and it's such a great opportunity for me - "

"I told you weeks ago that I can't leave New York this weekend, Phasma. I put it in your calendar and I told your assistant. I can't go to L.A. You can to walk the red carpet without me, I'm actually sure you'll get more press, or I can ask Finn if he's free to go with you, if you want the added publicity from The Force."

"Don't try to pawn this off on me, Ben, you know I need this! And Finn, honestly! Do I look like I want your pathetic Force groupies? If I was going to do that, I'd at least take your father, he may be decrepit, but at least he's an _original_."

Something snapped, and Ben looked down in surprise to see that both drumsticks had crumpled like toothpicks in his hand. 

" _Decrepit! Why you little b -_ My father would be doing you the biggest favour on the planet, you attention-seeking gold-digging - !!!"

"Gold-digging?!!? Why you little shit! At least I'm making my own way, not riding along on someone's coattails! I make more per show than you can ever dream of. If they offered me what you make each show on this miserable little sideshow of a tour, I wouldn't get out of bed!"

"We'll see if that still the case once your tits are dragging on the floor and you're following me around like a hopeless has-been trying to get the media at our show to put you in a Sears catalogue!"

It looked like one of their epic fights, and although Ben was in a mood, ready to let off some steam with Phasma, part of him was relieved to see Rey approaching quickly from the back of the stage. 

"Oh, great!" Phasma had seen her too. "I see your personal knuckle-dragging Neanderthal is here to rescue you. Honestly, Ben, I don't know where you get this scum you insist on hanging with. If it's not the pathetic knock-off of Han you call a lead singer, it's this horse-faced hack on steroids. Really, you know," she turned to sneer at him, "you guys could really afford some actual security. You must make _some_ money with this ridiculous facsimile of a band."

_"That's enough, Phasma._

Say anything you want to me, God knows you've earned it. You _don't_ speak like that to Rey, you _don't_ insult Finn like that and you _will_ respect my family. I've told you I'm spending the weekend with my parents and the band. If you don't have anything else to say, you can leave or I can have Rey show you out."

The look on Phasma's face was priceless. If someone could kill with a look he'd be dead, but there was also an element of shock there, and he gloried in that. Maybe that made him a lesser person, but at this point, he really didn't give a shit. He watched with only a smidge of regret as Phasma stomped off, brushing off Rey and flipping him the bird as she went. 

"Call me when you've decided to stop being your dad's little bitch, Ben. Oh, and, choosing Finn as your lead singer or her for your bodyguard doesn't make you any more 'woke'. I know you just did it for the publicity. Everyone knows it. And you - " she turned to face Rey as she got to the door at the end of the hall, " - you may have people fooled, with you being some hotshot security consultant, but don't think I don't know you made up all that shit about Takodana."

'Later, bitches."

And with that charming tidbit, she was gone.

He turned to face Rey, facing the assessment in her eyes straight on. 

"You're going to pay for that, later," she told him.

True.

"I'm not letting her get away with that." Not anymore. "She's never been happy with my decision. Leaving the Knights, joining the Force, Finn. My dad. Dinners with my parents."

You. It hung in the air unsaid. Phasma hadn't been happy, about the added security precautions - _don't think I'm going to let that bitch tell me what to do_ \- or the fact that it was Rey - _you're going to let that little girl be your bodyguard? Jesus, Ben, what kind of man are you? -_ and she hadn't been subtle about it.

"Dinners with your parents?" Rey asked.

Shit.

"Yeah. Umm... when we were talking about my joining the Force, we uhn, decided it was best, if we got together, regularly as a family, to, umm, talk over shit. Or, you know, just, chill."

She was looking at him like he was a little bit nuts, so he continued somewhat sheepishly. 

"All those years, we didn't, umm, speak. So now, we get, umm, together, my dad fires up the grill, he's actually pretty good at it. My mom, um, she supervises."

Shares some wine with him, teases him about his hair, about Luke, about the groupies. Shuts his dad up when she feels the need to. Shocked, he realizes how much he values those nights with his parents, how he values feeling wanted, feeling like he belongs. Luke comes by sometimes, but its mostly him and Han and Leia. Shocked, he realizes he can't picture how Phasma would fit in there. Little kids with unruly hair and deep brown eyes, yes. Phasma, his future wife, no. 

That was...

Not a good sign. 

"Ben?"

Startled, he turned back to Rey. Why could he picture her there so easily?

Fuck. 

"Sorry, just thinking of everything I need to get down before I head upstate to their house this weekend. What were you saying?"

"Nothing," she smiled. "Just that that sounded lovely."

It was just that she was already so close to his parents, right? That had to be it. Right. He hadn't failed to notice that his mom had taken to feeding Rey at every opportunity, or that Han sought her out whenever he needed a friendly face and a quick laugh. He also failed to notice that her and Luke had taken to exchanging books and attending lectures together during their off hours. She'd fit in so smoothly with all of them, or at least, with all of them except him. 

There was also a wariness there, between them, a quiet hesitation he felt from her sometimes, a sense she didn't quite approve of him (join the club), that she had to be cautious around him, that he could careen off in any direction at any time. They kept a careful physical distance between them, along with a careful emotional one, and he hadn't realized until this moment that he was desperate to bridge that. 

Because she was so close to his parents, right? Had to be. Because Ben Kenobi was an old family friend, and Rey was basically his adopted granddaughter.

Right. Sure. That was it. 

"Um, yeah. It, um. is."

She gave him that sad smile again, as she turned to walk away. Right. The show. He had to get ready, meet up with Han, Luke and Finn, go over the final set. Before he did though - 

"Rey?"

When she turned and gave him that quizzically amused look he'd come to expect, he just had to ask and trust that she wouldn't rat out his ignorance to anyone else. 

"What does 'woke' mean?"

He smiled at the memory of her laughter all the way to the green room. 


	5. Harmony

It was one of those perfect spring days, still a touch too cool, but the sun was shining and they could sit outside while his dad grilled. Still, Ben made sure his mom was wrapped in her winter coat with a blanket on her lap to go with the glass of wine in her hand as she perched on the edge of the wooden bench they'd installed off to the side of the grilling station last year. Sure, she insisted on unzipping the coat, wearing it open until it was more a cloak around her than proper outerwear - _let me enjoy the sun, Ben -_ but she _was_ wearing it, so he tried to refrain from nagging at her. 

Trying to get Leia Organa to do anything she didn't want to do was an exercise in futility anyway. 

"No Phasma today, Ben?"

"No mom. I told you, she had to be in L.A., so she couldn't make it."

"Shame," she says, even if he sees the way she hides her smile as she takes a sip of wine.

"Behave, your highness" her husband tells her, but their son sees the tiny grin he shoots her before he turns his attention back to the grill, and sees the way his mother only smirks back at him. 

Fuck. 

He'd forgotten, somehow. Not how much he wanted to be here, no he could never have forgotten that. He'd forgotten how good it could be, forced himself to do so, all those years with the Knights, him so desperate to prove himself, the industry so desperate to see him fail. Yes, he'd wanted this. Longed for it. He'd always wanted this, no matter how he'd denied it while consoling himself thoroughly with the _lifestyle_ Snoke had always been so eager to arrange for him. _Don't worry about it, Benny Boy,_ he'd whispered in his ear. _Any publicity is good publicity. Enjoy your life. Time enough when you're old and washed up to act like others would have you do._

Old and washed up like his father, the implication had always been, though Ben had always know that this couldn't be any further from the truth. Maybe there was grey in his father's hair and wrinkles he didn't remember from concerts he'd watched from the wings as a boy, but he couldn't imagine his father as old, and to be fair, not many people could. No one could have missed the random groupies showing up in his father's hotel bed when The Force went on tour, or even when they weren't on tour. That didn't mean he'd ever done anything than politely show them the door.

Even if he had grinned like a Cheshire cat while doing so. 

The truth was, his parents' marriage might be tumultuous - how could it be anything else - but they'd been devoted to each other for the last 40 years, ever since Leia, even at 20 already in her second year at Harvard Law, had gone to a Force concert to meet her long-lost brother Luke and had also met his devil-may-care creative partner, lead singer and driving force of the group. Han and Leia's marriage six months later had raised any number of eyebrows, not the least of related to their age difference, but despite their significant differences in upbringing, temperament and career interests, they'd found a way to make it work. Hell, according to the both of them, they couldn't imagine it any other way, and had been unable to since the moment they'd met, even if they spent as much time sparring with each verbally as they did making up. On that note, he was pretty sure his father was always so smug about the groupies who continually snuck into his bed was because it gave him an excuse to show off his virility for his wife before he threw them out. It was an odd dynamic, but it worked, and Ben had never doubted that either of them had ever looked at anyone else the entire length of their relationship. 

So, no, he couldn't look at either of them and conceive of them as old, no matter their ages. If anything, he'd had moments his entire life when he'd felt he should be parenting them.

And as for being washed up, well, the ticket sales and the fact that The Force continually sold-out the biggest venues in the world would seem to indicate otherwise, particularly since the demand for their new recordings were as much in demand as the 'vintage' material, if not more. The last record had been a critical darling as well as a commercial smash, and while Ben did think he and Finn had something to do with that, the truth was, people would be happy to pay to line up to watch Han Solo and Luke Skywalker sing 'Twinkle Twinkle Little Star', confident in their ability to bring something new to it. 

Speaking of which - 

"Uncle Luke coming?"

He didn't always, and sometimes he barely showed before wandering off to deal with that song he couldn't get out of his head, but tonight was a special occasion, after all. He and Luke had always had their issues, creatively and otherwise, but tonight was special, so - 

"He'll be here," his mother assured him, without looking up, attention still on the phone in her hand. "Or I'll know the reason why."

He sometimes wondered why her opponents showed up to fight her in court. A force of nature, Leia was, her legendary temper tempered only by her legendary resolve. Ben had been taller than her by the time he turned ten (at five foot one she was dwarfed by both her husband and her son), but she ruled her small family with an iron fist, even if it was wrapped in a velvet glove. The only time Ben had ever gone against her was to sign with Snoke and join the Knights of Ren. Even then, even with her open disapproval of it all _(with Snoke, with the tabloids, with his choices, with the girls and the drugs and the on-stage tantrums and the back-stage tantrums and the trashed hotel rooms)_ she'd also made it clear that there wasn't anything he could ever do to make her throw him away.

That, she'd told him later, that went double with his father.

_"You're his boy. As far as he's concerned, the sun rises and sets with you. He honestly can not see anything about you that needs fixing, never has."_

When the papers had splashed the news of leaving the Knights and joining the Force and had done the obligatory deep-dive into his "redemption", his father had only snorted. 

_"What exactly does he have to be redeemed for?"_

Looking over his father now, he felt his heart soften again, just a little bit, much as he tried to hide it. Holding in his emotions, he wandered over with a couple of beer to supervise Han's grilling, acknowledging his thank you with a small nod.

Leaning over his father's shoulder (he'd shot past him in height shortly after he'd turned thirteen), he peered into the grill.

"You plan to serve those steaks or just grill them until we can use them for shoe leather?"

"Why you scruffy -"

He smirked at his father and gave him a quick jab in the shoulder. 

Yes. It was good to be home.


	6. Dolce

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is as sweet as indicated, but quite short, so I'm going to post Chapter 7 shortly hereafter - Enjoy!

There was a small Tupperware container sitting on Ben Kenobi’s kitchen island, and Rey didn't need to read the attached handwritten note to see who it was from. 

_Benny couldn't eat all his birthday cake, wanted to share. Make sure Rey gets some! Enjoy, Leia._

She smiled. Her old mentor had been right. It was impossible to resist the charms of the Skywalker-Organa-Solos. She'd fallen for each of them in turn, but though Han had been impossible to resist, his dry humour and zest for life all but spilling out of him, she'd fallen for Leia even faster. The way she took care of Ben Kenobi was simply the icing on the cake. Luke had wormed into her heart while she wasn't watching, and as for Ben...

She frowned. Now if only she could get Ben out of her head.

That confrontation with Phasma had only emphasized how much trouble Rey was in. She'd been called worse things by better people and she hadn't really been worried by the insults the taller woman had insisted on throwing her way. Her main focus at that point had been getting that bitch out of her venue so they could all concentrate on their jobs. She'd no problem letting the insults roll off of her as she'd wondered how best to throw out the bitched-up supermodel with vodka on her breath. 

Before she could move to intercede, though, she'd heard Ben hiss.

_"That's enough, Phasma."_

She'd never heard him speak in that tone, his deep voice both deeper and louder than she'd ever have thought possible. Hadn't known what that particular tone from that particular man would do to her. Hadn't thought of how it might shake something loose, from deep inside her, particularly given it was done in her defence. She didn't need him to protect her, never had, and he'd really no reason to want to, but - 

FUCK.

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

She is done worrying about Ben Solo. There is too much on her plate, she is too tired and too stressed and too old for this shit. She isn't in high school any more, mooning over the sad boy with the puppy dog eyes. Ben is 31 years old, a grown man, with an adult(ish) career, and friends he's close with. He has a family who loves him and a fiancée who pretends to.

He does not need her to save him. 

Even if he is engaged to a small fraction of a human being who had garlic in her soul and who seemed to delight in bringing out the worst in him. 

Nope.

Not doing it. Not going to worry about him and all the things he doesn't say. 

Nope. Nope. 

Nope. 

Cracking open the Tupperware, she glared at the generous slice of birthday cake she found there. Double-chocolate, it looked like, with, yup, salted caramel icing. Damn. Why did the man have to have great taste in cake? 

Shit. 

Grabbing a couple of forks, she went looking for her old friend, knowing she'd be unable to resist eating the entire thing otherwise.


	7. Flat

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In apologies for the short chapter yesterday....

Waking up to a text from Snoke was not the way he wanted to wake up from one of the best weekends Ben had had in ages. He'd been looking forward to this time with his parents, damn it, being pampered a little by his mom, beating his dad at table hockey, the two of them getting scolded when they took their sweet time getting to the dinner table.

He did not appreciate the snarky messages his former manager insisted on sending him at random intervals. He especially did not appreciate the one he got at 6:45 that morning.

_Always told you she could do better. Let's face it though, she didn't have to try very hard; to do better than you._

Dread gathering in his stomach, he couldn't stop himself from clicking on the attached link, though you'd think he would know better.

Well. Fuck.

***

Rey hadn't been surprised to get the call from Han; the news was all over the internet, she could have forecast that the paparazzi would descend on the Solo-Organa estate in droves. She'd seen the footage first thing - it had made CNN for Christ-sake, and if she hadn't, the texts she'd gotten from Finn would have given her the heads up in any case.

Still, she couldn't really believe the pictures the paparazzi were hawking all of the internet.

Fuck, she'd always known that girl was too stupid for her own good.

She'd checked all the security procedures and policies and met quickly with the security staff before she headed up to the house. Everything seemed to be in order, even with the increased paparazzi presence, and she would happy to be able to report to Han and Leia that everything was in hand, or at least as much as that was possible.

Han had told her that Ben was holding a video conference with his publicist and agent and probably wouldn't be there, which was probably for the best.

It wasn't like she was avoiding him, right?

Of course not, that would be unprofessional. And Rey was nothing if not professional, even if there wasn't a constant refrain hammering through her head.

_Single, single, single. Ben was single._

This was.

Going to be a problem.


	8. Increasing tempo

The crowds of groupies tripled overnight. And Rey wasn't sure what they'd put in the water that summer, but it wasn't just Ben's groupies, thought that was by far the largest group. Nope, as a special treat - just for her - the number of groupies trying to get into Han and Finn's and, hell, even Luke's, bed, just grew exponentially with every show.

She was sure Amilyn Holdo, the Force's manager was over the moon, because she'd never seen a summer like that summer - the group was everywhere, on everyone's lips wherever they went, and the fame and the rumours spread like wildfire. And it wasn't as if they hadn't been famous before. But this - in addition to the industry shows and press, the mainstream press jumped on board, with unending requests for interviews, talk show experiences and morning show appearances. It was overwhelming, and she wasn't sure how much longer they could all ride it out, even if Holdo did continue with her never-ending chants of _playing the hot hand_ and _striking while the iron's hot._

"Has she ever met a cliche she didn't like?" Rey groused one morning at Finn, happy to be rewarded with his smile.

He'd been burning the candle at both ends later, they all had, but he seemed to find it comforting to have her around, and given the pressure they'd all put on him this summer to take it to the next level, she was happy to put a little effort into checking in with him.

"They all swear by her," Finn told her, gesturing to where Han, Leia and Luke had formed a tight knot of conversation in the morning show's green room. "I just hope she's as good as they say."

"Yeah, well - "

Rey glanced over at the tall, slim manager, her lavender hair all but screaming punk rock as she firmed up the final details of the appearance with the show's production assistant. She'd been one of the top managers in the business for the last thirty years, not quite as long as Han and Luke had been around, but still.

"She has been doing this, and doing it well, for a long time. I just wish she'd take it easy on all the motivational stuff."

Finn smirked. "If you ask me, that's aimed in one direction and one direction only."

She smirked back at him, sharing his amusement as they glanced over to where the tall, lean figure of their drummer was sprawled out on the couch. It was too short for him, which is why he'd stretched his feet out on the coffee table in front of him and fallen asleep with his head pillowed on the back of the couch, his eyes shaded by a worn ball cap. Apparently impervious to the hive of activity around him, he sleep as long as they let him, she knew, and it had become a running gag in their small group to have her wake him up.

_"You know I'm not sure that's entirely appropriate for my position as Head of Security."_

_"Come on, Rey, you know you're more than that. You're practically family. Plus, he actually likes you," Leia had pointed out. "That's why you can get away with it."_

_Umh - hmm. She knew bullshit when she saw it._

_"You mean I'm the only one who's not afraid of him."_

_Leia had chosen the path of greater valour at that quip and had gracefully retreated, somehow making it look as though that had been her intention all along. And just like that, the unenviable role of official wake-r up of Prince Charming had fallen to Rey._

She sighed. It was almost that time. Grabbing her large to-go tumbler, she filled it to the brim with black coffee from the crew table before closing it tightly and filling one of standard issue coffee mugs with the same brew, relieved to see it was piping hot. She didn't bother with the food, only chowing down the last of her apple turnover with a milk chaser.

Time to wake the beast.

"Ben. It's time."

She placed the coffee mug in his hand as he slowly levered himself up into a sitting position. Confused, he barely glanced at her as he gulped the coffee down so fast she was sure he was going to give himself third degree burns, his eyes only sluggishly regaining their focus as he drank. Prepared - they'd done this dance before - she used the tumbler to re-fill the mug as soon as he'd finished, and watched as it was downed just as quickly.

Only then did his eyes refocus on hers as she handed him the mug with the second refill for him to drink more leisurely.

"It's time?"

"Time," she reaffirmed, as he took off the offending ball-cap and tossed it at the go-bag their P.A., Dopheld Mitaka, carried with them. Mikata was well-versed in how the band travelled, he'd make sure it got into the car, and sure enough, Rey watched as he tucked the hat away for transport. (He also carried a small cooler with fruit, cheese and bread with him, for 'the band', though no one ever ate it but Ben.) Rey handed him the tumbler container as well, which she'd already refilled with precious coffee to be added to the go-bag next to the cooler. They were thus prepared for every eventuality in terms of assuaging their largest client, who happened to get the hangriest of any one Rey had ever met.

"Okay."

Ben managed to drag himself all the way up to his feet, a considerable task, cracking each vertebrae as he went.

"Thanks, Rey."

_"See?" Leia had poked her in the side the first time after he'd done that. We told you you were the right person for this._

_"You can't tell me you didn't teach him manners, Leia. And don't think I don't know you're throwing me to the lions.'"_

Ben Solo is decidedly not a morning person and never had been, even before they'd all fallen into a pattern of catching a few hours of sleep every night been the night show and morning show circuits. Thankfully his brain starts working again if, directly after waking him up, you pumped him full of as much coffee as soon as possible. Then he mostly made sense, which was a good thing. Otherwise you had to be careful to make sure he didn't wander into traffic, still half sleep and / or lost in thought.

He _really_ didn't work without coffee.

He also really didn't work with everyone poking into his business, and while she could understand the public fascination, she really did, it was becoming a problem. People were simply unwilling to let the fall-out from the 'break-up' with Phasma fade.

_Good riddance to bad rubbish_ , she'd thought privately, but she had not anticipated just how complicated this break-up would make all their lives. She had not factored in the fall-out when one of the world's most notorious rock stars dumped his supermodel fiancee after the pictures of her giving head to one of his former band mates in the gardens of the Chateau Marmount went viral. Beyond the emotional fall-out - which she could only imagine was intense - both Phasma and Ben's former colleague (the bass player from the Knights of Ren) were both represented by Ben's former agent, one of the most notorious power players in the business. The papparazzi was eating it up. She'd often thought it was a good thing Ben had long been allergic to social media, but even he couldn't avoid all of it.

Then there was the matter of the practical details that needed to be dealt with when a partnership ended; the apartment they shared, the home they had committed to buying and the smaller but not inconsequential issues of joint bank accounts, assets, etc.

Overshadowing all of that, naturally, was the matter of Padme Amidala's ring.

It was one of the few times Rey had seen Leia truly angry.

_"How that boy could have been stupid enough to give that fuckbunny my grandmother's ring, I'll never know."_

It looks like it might in fact take an actual lawsuit to get that ring back, and in the meantime, Ben spent any time not performing or in media interviews answering intrusive questions about his personal life while sitting next to his father (and some of those questions were _personal_ ) on the phone with his lawyer... answering intrusive questions about his personal life. It was _not_ ideal, and she honestly wasn't sure how long they had until he snapped.

She'd heard the stories about his behaviour when he'd gone by the stage name of Kylo Ren. They'd been common knowledge in the industry, hell, they'd been common knowledge nationwide. The alcohol, the drugs, the girls (before and during his early days with Phasma), the trashed hotel rooms, the contentious relationships with both his band mates and his fans. The legendary temper tantrums. All the traditional trappings of the rock star lifestyle. (Only, given that Ben was Ben and therefore always took things to the next level, he'd taken that behaviour to the next level as well.) Then there were the other rumours. The mutually dependent relationship with the legendary, and legendarily prick-ish, Christian Snoke, the agent for both Kylo Ren and the remaining knights (and Phasma, apparently). Kylo's public disdain for his parents, his father and uncle especially. The public trashing of the Force as a crutch for washed up has-beens, as a band only good for nostalgic fools blind to the fact its glory days were far, far, far, behind it. 

She wasn't certain how they'd moved past all of that, as a family, and they were clearly working on it still, but it seemed it had helped they'd all made the conscious decision to do so. And Ben... had clearly decided to change his life, radically, even if he was still part of an industry notorious for its hard partying ways. (And even if he'd still been unhealthily _attached_ to Phasma, as his mother had put it.) It was hard, sometimes, to reconcile those stories, _that_ Ben, with the gentle giant she'd come to know this past year, but still, she could see the edge sometimes, underneath, rubbing against the new persona she could almost see him struggling to mold himself into. 

It was disconcerting. Kylo Ren's persona still lingered (the charisma, the incandescent talent, the impatience with mediocrity), would still be part of him, part of his history (and she was convinced), part of his identity, but he clearly no longer felt the need to scream his disaffection at the world any more than he felt the need to deny his family's influence and legacy. He was clearly trying to forge a new path. She respected him for that, even while she worried he focused so intently on punishing himself for his past that he forgot how much a part of him Kylo Ren would always be.

Still, despite all the naysayers, he'd found a way to work with his father and uncle, had joined the Force, had helped recruit Finn to fill the role of lead singer after his father had decided to take on a less public role. He'd done it all even while continuing to focus on honing his craft as one of the leading musicians in the world. And the new material... Ben Solo or Kylo Ren, he had been acclaimed as one of the best lyricists in the world by the time he'd hit thirty, which would explain why the Force as a creative force was experiencing more success than it had ever seen, even in comparison to the glory days of the 1980s.

And yet, none of that would protect him now.

"So - we've yet to address the elephant in the room."

Gayle Walton is the queen of the morning show circuit, and the Force's interview with her was meant to be the culmination of weeks-long blitz of television promotion to celebrate the success of its tour following the release of its most recent critically renowned, and chart topping, album. 

That was last week.

This week was all about the 'Incident' with Phasma.

Rey grimaced.

_This was not going to go well._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bitches be like - 'Coffee is LIFE. Without it, I would accidentally walk into traffic.'
> 
> It's me (and Ben).  
> I'm bitches.


	9. Harmonies

Say whatever you would about Han Solo. He was never going to be embarrassed about sex. Even when it involved his son, apparently. Maybe he'd been in the industry too long, maybe it was just him. He'd met Leia when he'd been in his early thirties, and that had been it, apparently, but that didn't mean he hadn't apparently had a lot of fun before then, even if the myth of 'Han Solo - Ladies' Man' seem to have been slightly overblown. So maybe it was just him. He had seen everything, maybe even _done_ everything, and he had no problem acknowledging sex as part of the human experience and nothing to be embarrassed about. 

Even knowing this, even knowing everything his parents have done to make him feel safe coming back into the fold, to do their best to welcome back the prodigal son, Ben hadn't expected Han to be so open in his support.

Even given all the ways his parents had supported him since he'd rejoined the family fold, he still hadn't expected how openly on his side his dad had been since the 'Situation' with Phasma had exploded. He'd embarrassed them in the past. Disappointed them, disappointed himself, as he'd embraced every perverted aspect of the 'rock star' lifestyle as part of the Knights of Ren. Fuck. He didn't deserve what they'd done for him, and he'd been so grateful to find out that they were prepared to do whatever it took for him. It still took him by surprise his dad's reaction to the recent media circus.

Han Solo, though, had also never been shy about defending his son.

No one should have surprised by the way that interview with Gayle had gone, and yet, even knowing this, Ben still couldn't quite believe what had just happened.

His father had never been fond of rudeness either, and Ben had felt the tension build throughout the interview as Gayle had thrown in any number of snide asides throughout with crossing the lines spelled out by their publicist and therefore without directly addressing Ben's break-up with Phasma. It was only as the live interview was ending that she went for the jugular.

"- well, of course, we're all loving the new music and we wish you all the best with the tour - sold out throughout the remainder, congratulations by the way - '

Ben had nodded politely, waiting for the sting in the tail. It was Gayle's trademark, the sugary sweet compliments before -

" - I'd be failing our audience, though, if I didn't ask one more question as you leave us. Kyl - oops, _Ben_ , I mean, how DO you feel about Phasma telling everyone that you're the worst lover she's ever had?"

The question hung there, a long moment, and Ben had been debating let it sit there, just a second longer to make the point that it really wasn't appropriate, before quietly shutting it down, when he heard his father's voice break in harshly.

"Do you really want to ask him that?"

"Well, I mean, in fairness - "

"Seriously. Seems rude, doesn't it?"

"I - "

"This interview is over."

Ben had had to focus to keep his mouth from falling open as his father stood, and while the live broadcast was still rolling, gestured them all to walk off the stage even while the producer and Gayle scrambled to deal with the impact to their live television broadcast.

It had been the single most bad ass thing Ben Solo had ever seen.

***

Rey had never seen Han Solo angry. Despite his reputation, she'd never seen him lose him temper, be anything other than laid-back and loose, really.

Objectively, she knew that Han had once been the original bad boy of rock and roll. Hell, for that matter, she'd seen the photographic evidence, the raw footage from live concerts, television interviews, documentaries. She'd heard about it too, the partying, the women, the drinking, the epic, days-long gambling sessions, that had marked the early part of his career, after the Force had exploded onto the scene while he and Luke had both been in their early twenties. He'd been the yin to Luke's yang, his younger partner also so focused on his craft, taking to it with almost a religious intensity, even if he had come off as a bit goofy at times. Still, it had made for a easy contrast in the media portrayals of their early career. Luke, focused on honing his craft with a monastic devotion while Han, himself a phenomenal talent, had shrugged it all off with a wry half-grin and had shook his shaggy head of hair in disbelief on his way to yet another industry party. 

Still. A part of her had always thought that if it hadn't been for the footage, she would have thought the Force's public relations team had made it all up.

For her, Han had always been the charming, slightly smart-alecky, slightly funny friend of old Ben Kenobi, who showed up from time to time to play poker with him, enjoy an evening taking the piss out of him and drink an occasional beer. Then, when she'd met Leia, seen her and Han together, she'd found it even harder to picture him chasing women, sleeping with groupies, hell, even flirting with anyone other than his wife.

The only woman she'd ever seen him notice for more than two seconds was Leia Organa. Sure, the occasional naked woman would show up in his hotel room after slipping a bribe to the doorman, but whenever he'd called Rey to escort them out, she'd never seen him even check them out, though he always seemed to find it amusing. Objectively, she knew he'd have to notice the women throwing themselves at him, even if he was great at hiding it, but - she still couldn't see him as the smooth-talking, hard-partying flirt he'd apparently been before he'd met and married Leia. (When he told the story, he always said he'd had to get her committed to marry him before she could get to know him better and change her mind. Leia always made sure, Rey noticed, not to disagree with him, but then she'd always told Rey it was dangerous to let Han think he had the upper hand.)

Rey also knew that Ben had always felt a little left out in the face of the dynamic between his parents. This was especially true in the face of the dynamic of the Terrific Trio (as the press had taken to calling them since Han and Leia's marriage almost forty years ago). Like it seemed like Ben had never felt sure as to his place in this dynamic, especially after all that had happened when he had taken on Snoke as an agent, when he'd gone out on his own to prove he could make it outside of their legacy. He'd gone a little wild with the Knights of Ren, or more particularly under Snoke's tutelage. Even reviewing the interview footage from that time made Rey wince. He'd been brutal in his opinions on music, his parents, their legacy, his uncle, the Force.

It hadn't helped that his talent, even considering they played different instruments, had been compared ad nauseam to Luke's. His uncle, long considered the driving creative force, musically, in the Force and also as one of the most talented musicians of his generation, had at times been equally defensive in the face of the comparisons. He had been less discreet in his opinion of his nephew's lifestyle and talent than had Ben's parents while Ben had been with the Knights, and the rift between them had been legendary. And toxic.

_As sloppy as he is talented and unlikely to overcome the limitations of his technical weaknesses_ , had been one of the most damning critiques from Luke she'd read.

_Unwilling to let the past die and incapable of reaching new audiences,_ Ben had pronounced numerous times in response.

She was sure the rivalry between uncle and nephew had sold a lot of tickets, both for the Force and the Knights of Ren, but the family connection and the fact that Ben had once been Luke's protegee meant that the entire family had been caught in the middle. Rey was impressed, really, that they'd found a way to move through it as well as they had once Ben had rejoined the fold. Han had said they'd tried their best to 'clear the air' and it appeared they had been successful for the most part. (She imagined there had been a lot of yelling. On the part of everyone, even Han.) They'd put the pieces back together for the most part, and though she imagined that Luke and Ben would never be as close as they might once have been, they were finding a way back to being family.

Bringing in Finn as lead singer for the Force had helped, she knew, watering down the Solo-Skywalker concentration, and she could only imagine how many ears Leia had twisted, though the end result had been worth it, apparently. Thank the gods, because it looked like Ben was going to need as much family support as possible. The media fall-out from Ben's break-up was likely to be intense, as evidenced by the abruptly concluded interview with Gayle, and although Ben and his lawyers had finally managed to wrangle Padme Amidala's ring back from Phasma, the remainder of the financial and emotional decoupling process by the couple looked like it might drag on for months.

In the meantime, the tour had continued to attract larger and larger audiences, causing the addition of more and more concert dates, and she wasn't sure how long it was going to be before the pressure rising in Ben could no longer be contained. Honestly, she had rather thought the lid was going to come off this during this interview, and it probably would have, if Han hadn't blown his first.

She imagined he would probably hear about it from his publicist later, but she had to agree with Leia, who'd gleefully reminded them all that Han always had his moments before dragging her husband off.

A little bemused, she looked up at Ben.

"Did you mother just drag your dad off to find a storage closet?"

"Oh, yeah. But to honest, I figured that would happen the moment she called him a scruffy-looking nerf-herder before she kissed him."

"Scruffy-looking nerf-herder?"

"Don't ask. Just be grateful they didn't start making out in front of us."

_Hunh. Well._

Unsure, Rey forced herself to regroup.

"Okay. Okay. Um. So should we wait for them or should we - "

"We should head. They might be a while."

"Um. Okay."

Okay.

She shook her head slightly. Looking around, she noted that they were the only left at the studio, the rest of the Force's entourage having already headed out.

"I guess we go. "

Though she made a mental note to tell Leia when she saw her that that had been the single most bad-ass thing she'd ever seen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sometime you need a little Han/Leia action, amirite?

**Author's Note:**

> Feel free to yell at me @randombks


End file.
